Florida!!! Fun in the Sun!!!

Maddy and I had the chance to travel to Florida (sadly, without Anthony) to visit his grandparents. We went with Anthony's mom and dad and his sister Anna and stayed for seven days. We had an awesome time!!! It was SO MUCH FUN to see Maddy in the sunshine! It took her a few days to warm up to the idea though... Whenever we would go outside into the sunshine, she would scrunch up her face and squint her eyes - poor girl had never seen such brightness! After she got used to it you could tell she really loved feeling the warm sunshine and the beautiful breeze. We had lots of adventures while in Florida - trips to the pool, the flea market, restaurants, and of course, the airplane! She as a GREAT traveler - she nursed each time going up and her ears never seemed to bother her. I was amazed, though, at how challenging it is to travel with a baby - I don't think I could have done it on my own!

Me, Maddy and ALL OUR STUFF!

Yep, she's cute in Florida too!!!

A beautiful picture of Aunt Anna,
and a not so cute picture of Maddy
:)

the swimming beauty

little toes in the sunshine

Nani teaching me to make spedini
(an italian specialty and a personal favorite!)

Papa Tony took such good care of Maddy all week

the sunshine girls

Maddy with her great-grandparents,
Nani and Papa

Baba was a life-saver, putting Maddy to sleep

It was such a wonderful trip - I enjoyed every moment of watching Anthony's grandparents enjoy Maddy. It was also so much fun to spend the week with Anthony's parents and Anna - I loved being with them, making new memories, and seeing them with Maddy. While we were in Florida, Maddy started doing some new things! She started randomly "chatting" during her awake time - like she just wanted to be a part of conversation! She also started to notice her toys and other things in front of her. Probably the most fun was that she started smiling at everyone - amazing how one smile can brighten a whole day!

As fun as the trip was, I was so anxious to get back home. I had missed Anthony so much and knew he was missing Maddy (and me) so much. I couldn't wait for him to see her again! Plus, I knew it would be great to get back into our own environment. We had a great homecoming and spent the first day back enjoying being a family together. Here's video of Maddy seeing Anthony for the first time after we got home...

Random February Fun

Whew! The time goes so fast!!! I've got to get caught up so that I can start posting current events, pictures and videos! Here are some pictures of our February adventures...

a picture from a "Mommy and Maddy" photo shoot

another one - love this one!

kisses from Daddy - isn't this a gorgeous picture!?!

Mommy Love

Smiles for Daddy
she gives him the biggest smiles of all!
so cute!!!

our beautiful Maddy

I found her this way one morning...
How did she sleep like that?!?

Tummy Time!
Love that face!!!

Random January Fun

This post will be a collection of our end-of-January adventures. So... lots of pictures!

Updated Boppy Picture
It's amazing to me how much bigger she is!
I also love her little toes in this picture
Anthony thinks its funny that she has a bit of a belly in this picture.

This is what Maddy looks like when she's getting sleepy.
Look at those chubby cheeks!!!

Maddy and Bella chillin'
(they are becoming fast friends)

This is what Maddy looks like when she's waking up...
(lots and lots of stretching)

The wake up face

Ice Festival

We decided to venture out for a family outing and visited the Plymouth Ice Festival. It was a great day for it - sunny and not too cold - and Maddy ended up sleeping the whole time. It was so neat to see all the incredible things that people create out of ice!

Maddy all bundled up to be outside for 1+ hours

The whole bundled family!
(don't you love our hats?!?)

One of my favorite ice sculptures

One cool thing... the park where they hold the Ice Festival is the same park where they do weekly music events for kids in the summer and an annual art festival - both of which will become annual traditions for us. It's fun to think of being in the same place experiencing different things in different seasons!

Ski Trip

This weekend we took our annual ski trip to Boyne Falls with Anthony's family. It's become a tradition and one that we really look forward to.

Anthony has loved the opportunity to re-learn skiing and get out on the slopes. This year he skied several black diamonds - and only fell a few times!

Lee, Catherine, Anna and Anthony

(Anthony's two sisters and Catherine's boyfriend)

The past two years I have opted not to ski and instead to enjoy the spa at our hotel. This year I indulged with a massage, a facial and a manicure/pedicure combo. Sooooo nice to be pampered!!!

Maddy really enjoyed her vacation! :) She did great on the 4 hour drive up there - slept the entire time except the few minutes in between when she ate. When we pulled up at the hotel, she promptly stretched her arms and stirred awake. It was so cute - it was like she was saying "Well, I did my part and slept the whole way here... Now I'm ready to be up and get this vacation party started!" Here's a picture of her in her winter gear.


While we were up north, Maddy had her first opportunity to swim. It was so fun!!! She really loved the water and we all enjoyed holding her in the water - it's like she felt free, floating in the pool. She liked it so much we even went back a second time! I'm considering swim classes once she's old enough...

Pre-Swim Picture

Post-Swim Picture

We captured the whole experience on video. The first part of the video is Anthony 'dipping' Maddy into the water after blowing on her face so she'd hold her breath. I don't think I knew that this was safe to do with infants until after he did it, so you can imagine that it pretty much freaked me out to see my baby under the water! She, however, did not seem to mind at all and actually seemed to enjoy it. The second part of the video is me floating Maddy around a very peaceful pool - I loved that moment.

Maddy's New Trick

We caught a brand new trick of Maddy's on video! But, before I get to that, I have to post some adorable pictures of Anthony with Maddy in her carrier. She loves to be in it!

"Look Ma - no hands!!!"

"Hmmm... I think I like this thing."

Okay, now on to Maddy's new trick... She's starting to roll over!!! We were packing to get ready for our ski trip when Maddy woke up early from a nap. So, Anthony decided to bring her into our room and have her lay on the bed while we finished. Well, as soon as he put her down on her tummy, she rolled right over! We weren't sure if it was an accident or not, so we put her back on her tummy and she did it again.... and again... and again! Now, she was definitely aided by the heavy suitcase on the opposite side of the bed, but she's also definitely learning! Here's the video...

Maddy Talks!

The coolest thing happened today --- Maddy started talking to us! Okay, it might sound more like cries than talking to most of you, but we can definitely tell a difference! It is so cool to hear her 'voice' and so exciting to see her interacting more.